Recommended breakup songs for high school students: classic and popular J-pop tracks

GraduationMy Hair is Bad

My Hair is Bad – Graduation (Official Video)

Compared to adults, it seems high school students tend to date one person for a shorter period.

Since school is also a place to meet people, that makes sense.

This song poignantly tells us what happens to two people after a very fun romance ends and their feelings cool.

“Graduation” carries the meaning of graduating from being lovers—it’s kind of heartbreaking.

me me sheRADWIMPS

RADWIMPS – me me she [Official Music Video]

The lyrics are written from a male perspective, but I think women can relate to them too.

The vocalist, Yojiro Noda, has a unique way of phrasing that you can’t really hear elsewhere, and it might offer an impact and inspiration that feels a bit different from typical Japanese music.

MetronomeYonezu Kenshi

Kenshi Yonezu – Metronome

A heartbreak song with exquisite, heartrending lyrics that liken a person’s heart to a metronome.

It’s packed with everything great about Kenshi Yonezu and is hugely popular, especially among high school students.

Incidentally, Kenshi Yonezu originally worked as a Vocaloid producer on sites like Niconico; he’s a next-generation artist gifted in all forms of expression—not only writing and composing, but also singing and dancing.

Happinessback number

Happiness / back number (cover)

The quintessential heartbreak-song band back number delivers a powerful ballad.

This song is sung from a woman’s perspective by a male vocalist.

The way he belts out those painfully straightforward feelings, almost like sobs, has such impact that it can move you to tears even if you’re not heartbroken—and if you are in the thick of a breakup… well.

When you just want to cry it out and feel even a little better, please give it a listen.

Even if you went and became somebody’s damn girlfriendtensai bando

Genius Band / Even If You End Up Becoming Someone Else’s Girlfriend

It’s a signature song by Tensai Band, and many people feel they know this one even if they don’t know their other tracks.

It’s a song about still loving an ex even after she becomes someone else’s girlfriend, with Kimyo Reitaro’s soothing vocals making it a breakup song that feels like a love song.

RainHata Motohiro

Rain / Motohiro Hata (Cover)

As the title suggests, this work centers on the theme of rain.

Although Motohiro Hata is known as a singer-songwriter, this song is not actually written or composed by him.

It’s a cover of a track Senri Oe released in 1988.

Thanks to Hata’s gentle vocal timbre, the aching feeling of not wanting to part is conveyed with great care.

NAOHY

NAO

It expresses the feeling of chasing after you with a voice that seems on the verge of fading away.

Even if it’s impossible, the desire to do so stirs the heart.

The chorus that appears toward the end feels as if it gently envelops those aching emotions.

It’s a song where you can feel warmth even within the sadness.